28 March 2017Jim Mullen, chief executive of the Ladbrokes Coral Group, has hailed the success of the two operators’ merger after the combined group recorded significant financial growth in 2016.

Proforma group revenue for the two companies came in at £2.35 billion (€2.71 billion/$2.95 billion) for the 12 months to December 31, 2016, up 11% on £2.12 billion in the previous year.

The proforma posting includes results for both Ladbrokes PLC and Coral Group for the 12 months to October 31, when the merger between the two firms went through, and for the combined Ladbrokes Coral Group in the two months to December 31.

However, for comparison reasons, the posting excludes all results from the 360 shops that Ladbrokes Coral Group sold as part of the merger agreement.

Group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) on a proforma basis totalled £380.7 million, 14% more than in 2016, while group operating profit climbed 22% year-on-year to £264.3 million.

The company also announced reported results for the period, which include the results from continuing operations for Ladbrokes PLC only for the 10 months to October 31 and results for Ladbrokes Coral Group for the two months through to December 31.

For comparison, the 2015 reported results include those for Ladbrokes PLC only for the 12 months to December 31, 2015.

Reported group revenue increased from £1.2 billion to £1.51 billion, with group EBITDA also up from £154 million to £198.9 million.

“This is a very successful start for the Ladbrokes Coral Group; both Ladbrokes and Coral entered the merger in November with good momentum, and together delivered a strong full year financial performance,” Mullen said.

“As a management team we are now looking to the future; we are focused on delivering on the full potential of the merger through the strengths of the Ladbrokes Coral brands, enhanced scale, operational efficiencies and leveraging the best of both businesses.

“We are focused on building on the leading multi-channel experience developed by both brands, utilising a rigorous approach to data driven marketing and ensuring that our product delivers a leading customer experience.

“We will look to leverage our existing experience in international markets to drive further growth and use our significantly increased scale in technology to develop new products and deploy across the enlarged group.”

Mullen added: “The merger was the start of a journey. While we face some short-term uncertainty with the triennial review, the scale, talent and agility we have in this business represent real strengths going forward.

“We intend to use these strengths to establish Ladbrokes Coral as both the leading, and the best, betting and gaming business.”